Chương 43: Imperial Magistrate Yue Zhenli (Part II)

Wang Chen woke up two days after their encounter with the bald monk Shui Di. During those days, Bai Xiaomeng had fed him soup and stayed by his side, sleeping close to him. Part of her feared that Lucian would come back to hurt him if she left, while the other part needed Wang Chen's company to endure her nightmares. As Lucian had said, after the attack on the Bai Clan's caravan, Bai Xiaomeng couldn't sleep well.

Adding to the original trauma, more and more battles and corpses piled up, one traumatic event surging after the other. It became common for her to wake up three or four times during the night. Truthfully, if she didn't exhaust herself with daily chores such as hunting, cooking, cleaning, and doing other tasks for Wang Chen, she wouldn't find the courage to sleep at all. Nothing short of dropping tired on the mattress worked.

When she saw that Wang Chen had opened his eyes, she sighed both in relief and in tiredness.

"Young Master," she whispered, her eyes filled with tears of happiness.

"Good morning." Staring back at her, Wang Chen saw Bai Xiaomeng's serene face and unconsciously smiled. He wiped her tears with his hand, still drowsy. Then, slowly, the fog in his mind dissipated, and his senses returned to normal. These same senses made him notice something very peculiar about his body. His face heated up as he shouted, flustered, "Am I—am I naked?!" Letting go of Bai Xiaomeng, he grabbed the improvised bedsheet and covered himself tightly, moving away from her.

Giggling at his reaction, Bai Xiaomeng stuck out her tongue.

"I saw nothing, I swear! But I had to undress you to clean your body, Young Master! Don't be mad."

"How did you clean me without seeing anything, Little Meng!?" he shouted, exasperated. His face was as red as a tomato.

"That's what hands are for. I never said I didn't feel anything while touching you," she replied, smiling with a hand covering her mouth. Looking at her in disbelief, Wang Chen's mouth opened and closed. He didn't know what to say, his mind going blank as he tried to imagine what Bai Xiaomeng meant when she talked about touching him. Before more was said, they heard a forceful footstep. The person coming in seemed to hear their conversation and was especially loud, as if to tell them he was coming.

Bai Xiaomeng stood up and turned to Lucian as he opened the door.

"Grand Cultivator, Young Master has just woken up! I was about to call you after giving him some meat and clothes." Dismissing her with a wave of his hand, Lucian stared at Wang Chen. Usually, he maintained a cold or apathetic expression, with some occasional other reactions. Now, however, anyone looking at him could tell he was annoyed.

"Did something happen, Benefactor?" Wang Chen asked, flustered. He had just a thin sheet covering his naked body, and lacked the guts to stand up and bow properly before Lucian. Especially in front of Bai Xiaomeng.

"Tell me what you remember before passing out," Lucian said, his tone irritated.

"Ah. That. Uh, we were talking," Wang Chen quickly said, his mind racing.

"Uh, you pierced your sword into my chest, and then a monk arrived and healed me!" His eyes widened as he waved his arms, truly registering his previous words.

"Of course, I believe you did it to help me cultivate! I mean, I'm unharmed now, am I not? I'm not accusing you of anything, Benefector!" Glaring at him, Lucian said with a hint of anger, "Focus more on what you recall about cultivation and your enlightenment. I want to know what you remember about those." Scratching his cheek, Wang Chen said in confusion, "Everything, I guess. It was pretty painful, right?"

"I want details." Lucian's tone turned more authoritative. Bai Xiaomeng flinched, recalling the phantom pain from when Lucian activated the Rune of Lust and imposed his will on them. His voice sounded too close to the one he used when sending messages in their minds. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Wang Chen, for his part, closed his eyes briefly, trying to recall everything he could. Then, almost a minute later, he sighed with a smile.

"I learned the names of the first four meridians! And that without a Spiritual Root, it's impossible to cultivate!" Lucian stared at him, waiting. Noticing his cold gaze, Wang Chen hastily said, "Ah, Benefactor wants the names? The first is the Governing Meridian—""That can't be all," Lucian said sharply, cutting him off.

"I don't want names. I want to know about the cause of your obsession with cultivation." Wang Chen frowned.

"What obsession?" Closing his eyes, Lucian took a deep breath, restraining his temper. As I thought, he reflected. Something happened two days ago. Before Wang Chen woke up, Lucian realized he had been feeling annoyed, irritated, and angry without reason over the past two days. It was as if he wanted to scratch at a scar, yet couldn't reach it. He was painfully aware that taking the scar's scab off could make the wound bleed. The problem was, he had no clue what this metaphorical wound was!

Massaging his temples, he said, "You told me the enlightenment you received came from the Nine Heavens. I assume you remember that."

"Yes!" Wang Chen nodded and asked back.

"Is that a problem?" Maybe he has gone insane, Lucian thought, his irritation undiminished. Ignoring Wang Chen, he turned to Bai Xiaomeng and said, "Share with us what you remember about two days ago." Startled, Bai Xiaomeng composed herself before answering.

"I was with Young Master before Grand Cultivator Lu Xian arrived and requested to be left alone with him. Later, that monk Shui Di arrived. I told him Young Master Wang needed help. After he healed Young Master, he left."

"The monk isn't important," Lucian said with certainty. He even felt a bit relaxed when he did so.

"I need you to focus on Wang Chen's behaviour. Try to recall anything wrong with him." Bai Xiaomeng thought for a moment and shook her head, lowering her head to hide her blush. The only notable difference back then was that Wang Chen had looked at her affectionately without a bit of shyness. But she wouldn't dare to say it! Sighing, Lucian sat on the wooden floor and closed his eyes. I need to let it go, he grumbled inwardly. Whatever happened, I can solve it once I recover my strength.

The same applies to the Resonant Sea Ancestor's soul technique. Anxiety is a mortal trait, I can't forget it. If I can't deal with a problem for now, then I'll wait for an opportunity to do so. Yes, let's focus on my experiments. Composing himself, he opened his eyes, calming down his emotions as his expression returned to its usual cold apathy.

"Wang Chen," Lucian said, standing up.

"If you want to keep cultivating, it won't be any less painful than before. Besides, I have a feeling it carries hidden risks." He glanced at Bai Xiaomeng before continuing, making it clear he was following what he had told her. He did so because it cost him nothing, and because he had plans for later that required her loyalty. Of course, he could always go back on his word. His Curse of Pride wasn't about not lying.

"I'm not ordering you to do so, Wang Chen. You have a choice," he concluded, while inwardly he had other thoughts. When the Constable arrives, I can use the old man as an experimental subject. This will accelerate my research. Whether Wang Chen wants to be my little rat or not isn't important. Wang Chen was about to agree when he noticed Bai Xiaomeng's concerned expression. Glancing at her, he asked hesitantly, "Can I answer you later, Benefactor?"

Nodding, Lucian moved toward the door and answered, "Tell me your choice tomorrow." Leaving the house, he walked through the village ruins. Days ago, he had expected the place to stink and be filled with maggots and vermin because of the massacre, even though the remaining body parts had been stored alongside Xu Hua's corpse elsewhere. However, he had learned that due to Qi, the flesh did not rot as fast as it should. Flies, insects, and small vermin appeared in specific environments.

Cultivators believed that the earth itself, through the Earth Qi, devoured the buried corpses. Midway in his walk, Lucian stopped, his eyes narrowing. Then, he kicked the ground and climbed a broken wall, jumping from one piece of rubble to the next, and from one rooftop to another. Through these motions, he made his way toward the northwest of the village. Wearing brown inner robes beneath a larger black outer robe with long sleeves covering his wrists and hands, Lucian was protected from the sunlight.

However, habits were hard to die, so after he got to his destination, he remained in the shadows. He had come to this location to observe the trail leading to the northern road. From where he stood, he could hear the thunder of hooves and see the trees' leaves shake. His enhanced vision picked up a banner bearer carrying a blue standard embroidered with a golden bird. Below it, the characters for'Imperial Magistrate' were written in bold golden characters.

They didn't send Constable Mu, who is responsible for the nearby villages, Lucian thought. They sent Magistrate Yue, who should be stationed in Dragon River City! Lucian's expression turned grave. Xu Hua had enough knowledge to know what differentiated the two titles. A Constable was someone at the Qi Gathering realm, while to hold the title of Magistrate, one must be at the Qi Refining realm!

To his knowledge, the only thing a Constable and a Magistrate had in common was their status as Outer Disciples of the hidden Ancient Golden Clan, the ones responsible for maintaining the Empire's order from the shadows. This is troublesome, Lucian thought, his eyes narrowed. Constable Mu is an old man with a foot on his grave. But this Magistrate Yue Zhenli doesn't seem easy to deal with. Hm, good thing she brought blood bags for me.